Focus on: Mandarin Floss

Mandarin Floss is a beautiful and easy to use 6-strand floss made of 100% Bamboo. Stephen, one of Rittenhouse Needlepoint's owners, says it lays better than cotton because it is softer, yet it is still very strong. For these reasons, it's very similar to silk, but it has the benefit of being less costly! You would use this fantastic thread wherever you would use embroidery floss, strand for strand. Ply up or down to suit your needs, of course. We recommend using four strands of Mandarin Floss for 18 mesh. For 14 mesh, use 6 ply. For 14 count cross stitch fabric, use 2 plies.

Above is an example of this thread stitched up. I chose to use the Milanese stitch, which was very easy to learn. The Mandarin Floss just glided through the canvas and gave me no problems. It didn't snag like cotton sometimes does, and it really is very soft! Another great thing about this thread and also with this stitch is that Mandarin floss has a semi-matte finish, so it doesn't overpower other stitches. So, if you use the Milanese stitch shown here, and blogged about earlier in the week, you won't have to worry that it will look distracting or overpowering.

Some other stitches that Mandarin Floss would look great with are French knots, Moorish, Damask, Byzantine Scotch, and the Fancy stitch.

Come in to the store and check out this fantastic fiber. We carry 120 of the 132 colors in the line, and they're all beautiful!